My Thoughts About The First Day of the Greatest Days of 2006
By John Scognamiglio
My heart rate has finally calmed down after today's action. What a barn burner for a day.
After day one of the action, I have picked correctly 14 out of 16 games, the only two losses coming in 5-12 matchups.
Games of the Day:
Well, since it is March there are too many to pick here. Indiana outlasting a very good San Diego State team in regulation, George Washington beating UNC-Wilmington in OT, Gonzaga outlasting Xavier, and Montana upsetting Nevada. However, I feel there were three games of the day.
Game 1: Boston College defeating Pacific in double overtime. Not only did Boston College nearly wreck my bracket, as well as Indiana could have too, they persevered against an upstart 13 seed. While some may fear that this game is emblematic of Boston College all year, I feel this game is the kind of game that will light a fire under Coach Skinner when they go into the next game against Montana.
Game 2: UCLA defeating Belmont. It wasn't an exciting game deserving of March Madness status, but UCLA has a legitimate shot of making me look foolish in my Oklahoma bracket. They looked really fluid out there today against Belmont, squashing any opinion that they didn't deserve a number two seed. Coach Howland has done a great job this year balancing the injuries to key players and would be my favorite for coach of the year if not for a certain Roy Williams at UNC.
Game 3: Wichita State dismantling Seton Hall. Hey Billy Packer, still feel like mid-majors don't belong? Well, Wichita State did a heck of a job dismantling one of the more dangerous teams from the Big East, dangerous as in, to invent a word, spoilerifc. The Shockers won the game by 20, showing that they deserved a shot in the tourney by winning a huge game to silence critics.
Interesting trend of the Day:
ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, Pac 10, SEC. These are the so-called power conferences. Well, five teams today from non-power conferences won their games, the most notables were UW-Milwaukee over Oklahoma and Wichita State over Seton Hall. The other three victories were mid-majors over other mid-majors.
Player of the Day:
Tie goes to the Duke seniors J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams. They combined for 58 points in Duke's 70-54 victory over Southern. Each had 29 points. So let's see, the other Blue Devils combined for 12 points. It's tournament time and Redick, Williams, and Coach K (sorry, even if I'm Scognamiglio, still can't spell Coack K's last name) know it's crunch time for them.
What to Look Forward to on Friday:
Great 6-11 battle between SIU-Carbondale and West Virginia. Barn burner as UAB faces Kentucky. Three top seeds in action, will one finally fall? My pick for game of Friday will be Kentucky versus UAB. These two teams met two years ago, the result was UAB eliminating top-seeded Kentucky. So look for Tubby vs. Anderson round two. My upset special of tomorrow is the Salukis over West Virginia. Coach Lowery's team really impressed me in the MVC tournament, especially with their stifling defense against Bradley in the MVC title game. Also, look for some mid-majors to pull off upsets against power conference teams (Northern Iowa over Georgetown perhaps?) or mid-majors scaring power conference teams before faltering in the final minutes (Kansas barely beating Bradley).
So far, it's been a heart pounding tournament. Cannot wait for day two to get here.
My heart rate has finally calmed down after today's action. What a barn burner for a day.
After day one of the action, I have picked correctly 14 out of 16 games, the only two losses coming in 5-12 matchups.
Games of the Day:
Well, since it is March there are too many to pick here. Indiana outlasting a very good San Diego State team in regulation, George Washington beating UNC-Wilmington in OT, Gonzaga outlasting Xavier, and Montana upsetting Nevada. However, I feel there were three games of the day.
Game 1: Boston College defeating Pacific in double overtime. Not only did Boston College nearly wreck my bracket, as well as Indiana could have too, they persevered against an upstart 13 seed. While some may fear that this game is emblematic of Boston College all year, I feel this game is the kind of game that will light a fire under Coach Skinner when they go into the next game against Montana.
Game 2: UCLA defeating Belmont. It wasn't an exciting game deserving of March Madness status, but UCLA has a legitimate shot of making me look foolish in my Oklahoma bracket. They looked really fluid out there today against Belmont, squashing any opinion that they didn't deserve a number two seed. Coach Howland has done a great job this year balancing the injuries to key players and would be my favorite for coach of the year if not for a certain Roy Williams at UNC.
Game 3: Wichita State dismantling Seton Hall. Hey Billy Packer, still feel like mid-majors don't belong? Well, Wichita State did a heck of a job dismantling one of the more dangerous teams from the Big East, dangerous as in, to invent a word, spoilerifc. The Shockers won the game by 20, showing that they deserved a shot in the tourney by winning a huge game to silence critics.
Interesting trend of the Day:
ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, Pac 10, SEC. These are the so-called power conferences. Well, five teams today from non-power conferences won their games, the most notables were UW-Milwaukee over Oklahoma and Wichita State over Seton Hall. The other three victories were mid-majors over other mid-majors.
Player of the Day:
Tie goes to the Duke seniors J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams. They combined for 58 points in Duke's 70-54 victory over Southern. Each had 29 points. So let's see, the other Blue Devils combined for 12 points. It's tournament time and Redick, Williams, and Coach K (sorry, even if I'm Scognamiglio, still can't spell Coack K's last name) know it's crunch time for them.
What to Look Forward to on Friday:
Great 6-11 battle between SIU-Carbondale and West Virginia. Barn burner as UAB faces Kentucky. Three top seeds in action, will one finally fall? My pick for game of Friday will be Kentucky versus UAB. These two teams met two years ago, the result was UAB eliminating top-seeded Kentucky. So look for Tubby vs. Anderson round two. My upset special of tomorrow is the Salukis over West Virginia. Coach Lowery's team really impressed me in the MVC tournament, especially with their stifling defense against Bradley in the MVC title game. Also, look for some mid-majors to pull off upsets against power conference teams (Northern Iowa over Georgetown perhaps?) or mid-majors scaring power conference teams before faltering in the final minutes (Kansas barely beating Bradley).
So far, it's been a heart pounding tournament. Cannot wait for day two to get here.
posted by Anonymous at Thursday, March 16, 2006
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